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All Forum Posts by: Elias Halvorson

Elias Halvorson has started 0 posts and replied 155 times.

Post: Can you get a DSCR loan on a property before its rented?

Elias Halvorson
Posted
  • Hawaii
  • Posts 162
  • Votes 83

Simple answer, yes, you can and I'll echo what Ravi wrote. 

Post: 15 year fixed or 30 year fixed?

Elias Halvorson
Posted
  • Hawaii
  • Posts 162
  • Votes 83
completely agree with JD. The pricing difference is small. You can always pay more toward your principal and turn your 30 year loan into a 15 yr loan on your own. Having the 30 year provides more flexibility. 


Quote from @JD Martin:

I prefer the flexibility of 30 year notes, especially when the interest spread is paltry. Right now the difference between the two is less than 75 basis points, certainly nowhere near enough for me to give up the flexibility of the longer note with lower payments. Besides, you can always (essentially) turn a 30 year note into a 15 year note, but not the other way around. 


Post: How do we get this guy off the mortgage, quickly and painlessly?

Elias Halvorson
Posted
  • Hawaii
  • Posts 162
  • Votes 83

No painless way. Since you said "assume the loan" I am assuming this is a Gov mortgage ie FHA, VA, or USDA? Assuming the loan would likely be best from a cost/fees (and likely interest rate perspective).

Post: Seeking Advice Birmingham AL

Elias Halvorson
Posted
  • Hawaii
  • Posts 162
  • Votes 83

Not in Bama, but I had 4 Section 8 properties in Biloxi. I love section 8. Sometimes the repairs were a bit nit picky, but the clients were great. THey are incentivized to take care of your property or they could lose their section 8. In my experience section 8 tenants were much better than tenants than others. Highly recommend! 

Post: HELOC on Primary Residence

Elias Halvorson
Posted
  • Hawaii
  • Posts 162
  • Votes 83

Yeah, I would go with a local credit union or bank - they have the best deals. 

Post: Best Credit Score for Financing

Elias Halvorson
Posted
  • Hawaii
  • Posts 162
  • Votes 83

Hi Kwanza, 

It really depends on what type of loan (VA, FHA, Conventional, DSCR, etc). For instance, I'm a veteran and do a lot of VA loans and one bank I work with offers the same rate to veterans with a 685 credit score as they offer for veterans with a 758 credit score. However, for a conventional loan the pricing is significantly different. Typically, 760+ is the top, with maybe 10% of the banks having 780 and above as the highest tier.

Post: Should I refinance before switching jobs?

Elias Halvorson
Posted
  • Hawaii
  • Posts 162
  • Votes 83

What Jeff asks is key. No problem if the salary structure is the same, but if there is any sort of commission income involved, and you need that commission income to qualify for the refi then waiting could cause issues. No one knows the direction of rates. We all hope they go down, but will they and by how much? With tariffs, potential trade wars, and all sorts of economic uncertainty I would probably play it safe and just refinance now. 

Post: Pay off mortgage

Elias Halvorson
Posted
  • Hawaii
  • Posts 162
  • Votes 83

It’s already been said by the above but at 2.9%- that’s free money. It would be a huge mistake to pay it off. If you want to invest elsewhere then take that 50k you would’ve paid it off with and use it for a down payment on another home. 

Post: Pay off mortgage

Elias Halvorson
Posted
  • Hawaii
  • Posts 162
  • Votes 83

Justin, 

Most of us are happy to help and offer advice, but in order to offer good advice details are usually needed. So much more info needs to be given in order for us to give you decent advice. 

- What is your interest rate on your current mortgage? It wouldnt make much sense to pay it off only to get a HELOC... Refinancing doesnt make much sense unless you have A LOT of equity and are pulling some cash out. You wouldnt want to do a rate/term refinance as you barely owe any money and the title/escrow fees alone would be cost prohibitive. And of course, what are you going to do with the money should you take cash out via a HELOC or a cashout refinance?

Post: Buying Down Points

Elias Halvorson
Posted
  • Hawaii
  • Posts 162
  • Votes 83

I would recommend shopping around, especially with a local mortgage broker. Is this a conventional loan for a refi-cashout on an investment property or is this a DSCR cashout? For conventional refi-cashout these terms are very high. What is your credit score? If this is for a conventional cashout feel free to DM me - I can go over the rates I am seeing. But if you have good credit, and this is a conventional loan on an investment property that is a SFH - you should be getting a lender credit, not charged points at 7.125.